1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus for machining railroad truck bolsters of various load capacities. More particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus which permits machining of a plurality of critical wear surfaces of railroad truck bolsters without removing the bolster from the apparatus once it is properly positioned in the apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Because of the tremendous frictional and wear forces experienced by railroad wheel trucks, various wear surfaces of those trucks are subjected to severe friction and abrasion. Consequently, these critical surfaces of the railroad truck must be periodically repaired to allow extended life of an otherwise serviceable railroad wheel truck. In this regard, the worn surfaces must be machined to remove the pitted and worn surface and a new surface in the form of a wear plate of a predetermined thickness must be welded to rebuild the worn surface. Heretofore, bolsters of railroad wheel trucks have been machined by conventional machining apparatus which has not been specifically designed or adapted for machining such bolsters. Thus, substantial setup time has been required to assure proper machining of those surfaces, and additional setup time is required each time a different surface is machined. Some attempts have been made in the past to provide machining equipment especially adapted for machining railroad trucks. However, such attempts have not proved to be commercially acceptable. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,008,083--Muller discloses one such prior art apparatus which has never achieved commercial success in this country.
Accordingly, it would be a highly desirable advance in the art to provide an apparatus for machining the critical wear surfaces of a railroad bolster that permits highly accurate machining of those surfaces at greater speed, economy and convenience than has been permissible using prior art conventional machining apparatus.